US President Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner said in an interview he does not think the Palestinian people are able to govern themselves at this point in history, but expressed hope they will be able to in the future.
"The hope is, is that over time, they can become capable of governing [themselves]," Kushner said in an interview, adding that "[the Palestinian territories] need to have a fair judicial system… freedom of the press, freedom of expression, tolerance for all religions," before they become "investable."
Kushner has been tasked with developing a plan that could solve the long-lasting Israeli-Palestinian conflict but is keeping exact details of the plan under strict secrecy and hasn't shared details with reporters.
Talking to Axios on HBO's host Jonathan Swan, he expressed his view that there is a difference between the people and the leadership of the West Bank and Gaza strip, dropping a hint that the Palestinian leadership may be dropped from the upcoming peace plan. According to Kushner, Washington cut its aid to Palestine because of poor relations with the leadership, not with the people.
"America's aid is not an entitlement," he said. "If we make certain decisions, which we are allowed to as a sovereign nation, to respect the rights of another sovereign nation and we get criticized by that government, the response of this president is not to say, ‘Oh, let me give you more aid.'"
Commenting on whether the Palestinians can expect freedom from the Israeli government or military presence, he avoided answering the question.
"I think that it's a high bar…. If you don't have a proper governance structure and proper security when people are living in fear of terror — that hurts Palestinians," he said.
The advisor expressed his belief that Palestinian people will judge the plan he is about to unveil in June based on facts instead.
"I'm not here to be trusted," he said. "They are not going to judge anything based on trusting me or trusting anyone else. They're gonna judge it based on the facts and then make a determination."
So far, the Trump Administration has demonstrated full support for the Israeli side. Trump has unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and closed the Palestinian Liberation Organization office — the de-facto diplomatic mission in Washington.
Trump Administration officials have repeatedly refused to disclose whether the upcoming peace plan will pursue a two-state solution — a course that the previous US administration adhered to. The details of the plan have been scheduled for presentation in early June.
